How to make your own gadget cover

I promised a few weeks ago that I would prepare a tutorial for you so that you could make your own iPad or gadget cover. I probably would have bumbled along and forgotten that promise if it wasn’t for our upcoming school fete. We always have an exceptional craft stall, with a great range of high end products, and this year a friend has been assigned the task of making iPad covers, so I decided that I needed to get my tutorial writing groove on and prepare it for her (and you!)

These gadget covers make great presents for family and friends – you can personalise them with your choice of fabric, or by embellishing them.

These instructions will make a gadget cover that fits an iPad, iPad2, etc, and will be a little big for the iPad Air. At the end of the instructions I provide measurements for making this pattern to fit the iPad Air and the iPad mini.

(For wadding I use Vilene H640 fusible fleece. Here in Australia you can buy it at Spotlight by the metre. There is a thinner version – Vilene H620 that is also fusible but the H640 is thicker and provides more cushioning for your device. You could also use non-fusible wadding such as cotton or bamboo, or polyester by simply stitching it around the edge of the outer fabric instead of fusing it.)

Instructions

Attach the fusible fleece to the wrong side of the outer fabric, following the manufacturer’s instructions. You should have a small gap on either side of the fabric where the fleece doesn’t meet the sides. This is to help you reduce the bulk in your seams.

When I attach the H640 using an iron I place the fleece on the ironing board with the adhesive side up (that is the rough side) and then place the fabric on top of it with the wrong side on the fleece and the right side facing up. I then use a pressing cloth (a piece of cotton, calico, or a tea towel) over the top of the two pieces and spray it lightly with water. Then iron the pressing cloth, applying a small amount of pressure, and holding the iron in each spot for a few seconds before moving it along. You may need to go over the piece a few times to ensure that the adhesive has properly melted and adhered to the fabric.

Fold the outer piece, with its attached wadding, in half with the right side together and the wadding facing out, so that you have a side that is 28cm high and about 22cm wide. Stitch a line from the top of the long side down that side, and then across the bottom. Use a 1 cm seam allowance here.

Clip the corners at the bottom of the outer layer, then turn it inside out and poke the corners out at the bottom.

And if you are really lucky you will accidentally line up your pattern so that it almost matches perfectly!

Fold the inner fabric in half, with its right sides together and stitch that down the long side from top to bottom, then sew across the bottom for about 5 cm, leave a 10 cm gap, then sew the remaining seam. This will give you a gap for turning your creation in the right way at the end.

Take your hat elastic and fold it in half, then wrap a piece of cotton around the end where the cut ends meet, to bind them together. This will stop the pieces separating when you are sewing them, and give the stitches something to catch so that the elastic is secure in the seam.

Pin the elastic half way across the back side of the outer piece so that the elastic sits on the right side of the fabric, with the cut end just over the raw edge of the fabric and the loop pointing down. Put the pin on the fleece side of the fabric.

Now place the outer piece inside the inner piece so that their right sides are together, and the seams on each one lines up. Stitch around the top edge of the two pieces, about 1 cm from the edge, to join them together. When you cross the point where the elastic is sitting, reverse back and forward a couple of times to reinforce the stitching at that point.

Turn the piece inside out, using the gap in the lining, and tuck the lining down inside the outer piece. Press or iron the seam that joins the inner and outer pieces so that it is flat, and then top stitch a row around the top of the cover.

Now you are ready to close the gap in the lining. To do this you can either hand sew it shut or, as I tend to do, tuck the seam in and then machine sew across the edge of the folds. Tuck the lining back into the cover.

Yay! The last step! Time to sew your button on. To measure where you button should be sewn fold the elastic loop down to the front side of the cover and mark where the bottom of the loop falls, then sew the centre of your button a millimetre or two below that point. And now – ta da – you are done!!

To adjust this pattern for other gadgets you need to measure the width, height and depth of the gadget. To help you out I can report that the measurements for making a cover for the iPad Air are 28cm (11”) x 40cm (15 ½”). The iPad mini requires fabric that is 24cm (9 ½”) x 33cm (13”).

You are welcome to use this pattern to make items for sale on a cottage industry scale, for fundraising or as gifts.

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the little bird

Welcome to a little bird made me! I am Theresa, the little bird who is an artist, making things. My other labels include mother of three, owner of dogs, sheep and chickens, daughter, sister, grower of plants, autism parent, hoarder of fabric and yarn, retired lawyer, gin and tonic appreciator, and tea addict. I am based in rural New South Wales, Australia.

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